Can Darnell Wright match these Tennessee football draft picks? | Mike Strange
Darnell Wright is poised to join a short list of Tennessee football luminaries.
If various mock draft projections are accurate, Wright will become just the sixth Vol offensive lineman to go in the first round of the NFL draft. We’ll find out April 27.
He is considered by some the best right tackle in the draft. ESPN’s Mel Kiper rocketed Wright up to the No. 9 pick – by the Bears. Even if that’s a stretch, Wright is virtually certain to hear his name called in the first round.
The Vols have produced a bunch of offensive linemen who endured to survive long careers. More about them in a minute.
With one notable exception, Tennessee’s most productive NFL offensive linemen were drafted after the first round. A few weren’t drafted at all.
That exception is Bob Johnson, a two-time All-America center for Doug Dickey. In 1968, the new expansion Cincinnati Bengals made Johnson their first draft pick, the second overall pick. He started as a rookie and for 12 years total, finishing with 136 starts in 154 career games.
In 1979, Dallas chose center Robert Shaw with the 27th pick. Knee injuries curtailed Shaw’s career to 33 games.
The 1991 draft saw Vols Charles McRae and Antone Davis selected seventh and eighth, respectively. McRae started 39 games, most for Tampa. Davis started 87 games, most for Philadelphia.
Finally, Ja’Wuan James went to Miami at No. 19 in 2014. He’s played 66 games, starting every one. However, James has had only three healthy seasons, the most recent in 2018. He skipped the 2020 season because of COVID concerns. Achilles’ injuries have limited him to one game since.
Whoever drafts Wright, they hope his career will mirror Johnson’s, more so than the others.
There is another Vol who should be mentioned here. Trey Smith would have been a first-rounder in 2021, if not for concerns about his blood-clot history. He was a sixth-round steal for Kansas City and has started every game for two seasons.
Now we get to the most durable Vols.
Besides Johnson, 10 UT products have made at least 100 NFL offensive line starts. At the top of the list is a pair of hometown heroes.
Tim Irwin, Central High, logged 187 starts after being drafted by Minnesota in the third round in 1981. All but a handful were for the Vikings.
Raleigh McKenzie, Austin-East, was an afterthought in 1985, the 290th pick in the 11th round by Washington. All he did was last 16 seasons, the first 10 in Washington where he won two Super Bowls. He finished with 227 games and 184 starts.
Chad Clifton went to the Packers in the second round in 2000. He stayed 12 seasons, starting 160 games and going to two Pro Bowls.
Ramon Foster was ignored by the 2009 draft, signed with the Steelers as a free agent and started 145 games in an 11-year career.
Scott Wells went in the seventh round in 2004, then started 135 games for the Packers and Rams over 11 years.
Harry Galbreath, an eighth-rounder in 1988, was a bargain with 131 career starts for Miami and Green Bay.
John Gordy went in the second round in 1957 and repaid the Lions with 128 starts over 11 seasons.
Jack Stroud, a fifth-round pick for the Giants in 1951, started 110 games.
Mickey Marvin went to the Raiders in the fourth round in 1977 and made 108 starts.
Richard Cooper played defensive tackle at UT, signed as an undrafted free agent with the Saints, converted to offense and made 103 career starts.
Also worth noting: Bruce Wilkerson 94 starts; Cosey Coleman 92; Zach Fulton 90.
Mike Strange is a former writer for the News Sentinel. He currently writes a weekly sports column for Shopper News.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Can Darnell Wright match these Tennessee football NFL Draft picks?
